The Ultimate Truth and the Setting Sun: Alma vs. Kariya
A cool summer breeze filled the vicinity as Kariya finished his training. The sun was beginning to rise, and he decided to take a stroll on the cape. Gathering his items and sheathing his zanpakutō, Kariya walked out of his house and proceeded down the steep slope that acted as a staircase. Once he reached the bottom, Kariya stretched and proceeded to walk through the thick forest that surrounded the base of the mountain. The path was wet from the firece rain that occured hours earlier, and the trees glistened as the sun rose. Not far away, Alma sat gazing at the rising sun. Garbed in her usual attire, she leaned back against a rock that was embedded into the sandy beach where she lay. Her quiet expression gave nothing away as she contemplated the world and its possible fate. Kariya had just finished walking through the forest and it's trail, and he could see the bright sun, now high in the sky. He stopped, and looked around. Something was wrong. He could feel another person besides himself. He continued walking intil he reached the edge of the cape. Looking out into then horizion, he was reminded of why he decided to leave the Soul Society - the Human World was much more beautiful. Looking out onto the beach, he saw a young girl leaning against a rock. Kariya was suprised, seeing as how this beach was hidden off from the rest of the world, surrounded by rapid, rocky waters that made it dangerous for anyone to pass through. Kariya was further surprised when the young girl loked up at him, her dark brown eyes piercing his own blue eyes. Kariya slowly drew Bakuryuga out of it's black sheath, and went down to confront the young girl. Alma recognized whom this soul reaper was, and it was impossible to tell if she was happy or otherwise regarding his presense here. Turning away from him, she returned her gaze to the sun; even as Kariya crept forward with his blade. Kariya held his blade firmly in his hand, but not as if he were about to attack; rather, as if he were saluting a fellow swordsman. Kariya looked oddly at the young girl. He had seen her before, but he did not immediately recognize her. Her spiritual pressure was low, so Kariya felt no threat. Kariya walked towards the girl and, once reaching her, held out his hand, as if he wanted to handshake. "Nice to meet you here. My name is Kariya. And you are?" He said in a light, playful demeanor, but his ocean blue eyes were serious. Alma's spiritual pressure flared up as soon as he did this; washing over him as mercilessly as an ocean storm would. Its density, quanitity, and very existence seemed to be trying to swallow him. Even Kariya, a seasoned Shinigami, had rarely if ever felt such spiritual power; as such it had the effect of causing his entire being to tighten at its concentration. "Wow. Impressive spiritual power. Similar to that of a hollow's. I assume then that you are Alma, Verus's friend." Kariya said lightly. His own spiritual pressure was eons beyond Alma's, but the sheer force of it causen him to tense up. Kariya held Bakuryūga loosely in his hand now, convinced that Alma was not as big a threat as he had thought. Still, he was intrigued. "Say, Alma, perhaps you wouldn't mind testing your own power against my own? Just a little sparring battle, nothing serious." Alma didn't even bother turning to look at the shinigami, "Sure... but don't expect me to draw my blade for you." The Battle Begins "Heh, I kind of figured." Kariya said as he held Bakuryūga loosely in his hand. Kariya gave Alma a split second before he suddenly charged reiatsu within Bakuryūga. He fired off the energy in the form of a large green energy wave, headed directly for Alma's own being. Kariya knew that this was an amateur start to a battle; However, he did not intend to go full out with his own zanpakutō, Hayabusa, until he absolutely needed to. Alma looked at her hand for a moment, before simple swatting the attack away as it neared. The attack reflected and went right back to Kariya. "Sorry, but that's not how Bakuryūga works." Kariya said before apparently being consumed by the energy created by Bakuryūga. Once the smoke from the explosion cleared, Kariya was just fine. "A sword will never rebel against its master." He launched another burst of energy, and shaped it into small crystal-like shards that blew in the billions in Alma's direction. As soon as they reached her vicinity, Kariya stared at them and they exploded, throwing debris into the air. As the dust cleared, Alma was seen just sitting there without a scratch on her. "Heh. I thought as much. My Hollow blade was unable to injure a Hollow, even if it was a hybrid. Kisuke has some explaining to do." Kariya said as he held Bakuryūga firmly in his hand, and pointed it at Alma. "Rikujōkōrō" He said as the 6 slabs of energy locked themselves around Alma's waist. "Sajō Sabaku" he said firmly as the golden chains wrapped around Alma's being. "Kuyō Shibari" kariya said as the nine circles appeared on Alma's being. He condensed energy within Bakuryūga once more and fired the energy blast. The energy blast did not explode; rather, it approached Alma's being before condensing itself into a type of armor that covered Alma from neck to toe. Alma silently looked at the armor before simply tapping the armor with her index finger. She did so at a weak-point she had percieved on the armor. Doing so caused it to shatter cleanly and fall to pieces; she did the same with all the other bindings and once more she was sitting against the rock; it was clear she hadn't moved from that spot yet. Kariya sighed. "Well, well, You've manage to best my Kidō skills. Seeing that I am not proficient in kidō, you may call this a "win against a defective thing". Bakuryūga has not failed me, and I do not think it will anytime soon." Bakuryūga started to glow faintly, and kariya swung down with all his might. The energy wave created traveled along the ground before erupting in Alma's vicinity. The explosion that followed created an earthquake, which made the ocean shift. Kariya looked at a few large rocks that stuck out from the bottom of the cape, similar to small mountains. With apparently no strain at all, he lifted these objects using telekinesis and threw them at where the explosion had transpired. Kariya formed a small javelin in his hands and threw it at the location, sending large clouds of smoke and fire wailing high into the air. Alma's soft-voice, barely heard over the explosion, said simply, "I don't think so." As all the dust settled, Alma was once again seen without a scratch on her. Her right arm was seared, but it instantly healed as she stood up; the rock she was leaning against having been annihilated. If Alma had been a different person, she would likely have clapped at Kariya for having finally been able to force her to stand. With a nod, Kariya flew high in the air. "Hadō #63, Raikōhō!" He shouted from above, firing a trememndous wave of energy from his palm straight in Alma's direction. He kept his close eye on Alma as he drew Bakuryūga and gathered energy within the blade. Placing his palm on the sword, the energy wave formed on the ground and erputed upwards, creating a large dome of energy. He then used his Flash Steps to appear where Alma was currently. Alma grabbed the kido with her left hand and used this grip to duck under it; bringing herself right to Kariya, where she jabbed him in his solar plexus with her right hand; causing him to sink to the ground as the wind was knocked out of him; followed by a cero that came with no charge that shot directly through his body; leaving a hole about 4 inches in diameter in his lower torso. She finished this by twirling with the kido still in her hand, and bringing it crashing directly into Kariya; sending him flying from the blast and managing to leave a gash about an inch deep in Kariya's torso. A doppleganger. Kariya had stood behind Alma the entire time, and yet she had not noticed. "You were much too arrogant. I'd never allow anyone to injure me like that. If I did, it would have been to gauge their power." Kariya said, in an instructor's tone. Hw plunged his sword within Alma's abdomen, and unleashed a large energy blast that seemingly eradicated her being. Kariya held guard, however. Alma was as tactical as he was and wouldn't leave until he had been beaten. What had looked like Alma fading had actually been the light contained in an after-image fading instead. Appearing behind Kariya she blasted him with a Bala; an attack fast enough that Kariya couldn't notice it even with his guard. The Bala launched Kariya, and Alma suddenly activated Sonido to appear in front of him and shoot a Cero at him that cleanly punched a 6 inch hole in his abdomen; Kariya was unable to move or do anything because he was flying through the air. Alma could tell this wasn't a doppleganger; her Pesquisa assured her to such. Kariya crashed onto the cape. He reached into his hakama-hito and grabbed a pouch of sunflower seeds. He placed them in his mouth and began sucking. He then turned his attention to Alma, and in an instant, attacked. Alma was shocked as a large blade cut off her right arm and slightly cut her torso. Kariya smiled with a faintness, but his eyes were serious. With a blink, he had managed to cut her torso once more. Kariya shunpo'd in front of her and 540 crescent'd her hard - she went crashing into the sandy beach below. As the sand settled, another after-image faded away. Alma walked out from behind a rock; her missing arm regenerating as she did; along with the slash in her torso. Silent as ever, Alma reappeared behind Kariya at speeds not even the shinigami could reach. Alma's Pesquisa was still active as she ran her entire left arm through Kariya's chest; her hand and wrist managing to come out the other side. By being in contact with the body she confirmed that this was the actual Kariya. She then took her right arm and shot a cero from her hand; blasting through Kariya's chest and leaving a clean hole through his abdomen about 7 inches in diameter. Withdrawing her arms, Alma allowed Kariya's body to collapse to the ground. Kariya looked at Alma before chuckling. "What the hell is this? I feel like I've been tickled. Look, I don't think you have ever been up against a captain-level Shinigami such as myself. This is worthless." As he said this, he grabbed Bakuryūga, then got up. He reached to his left side and grabbed his katana, his true Zanpakutō, Hayabusa. He grabbed Hayabusa and disappeared, reappearing behind Alma. It went by in slow-motion; Kariya plunged Bakuryūga into Alma's heart. He knew it was the real Alma, and she could not deny it, as his reiatsu was flowing through Bakuryūga. If it was a doppelganger, it would have dissipated the minute it was damaged. He drew Bakuryūga slowly out from her chest, the sword stained with blood. Kariya sheathed Hayabusa, and held his hand out. "Come forth, god, and help our people. Touch our lives and our hearts so that we may all realize the evils of bribery and corruption, so that we may eliminate it. God, raise up for us a god-fearing people and leaders, who may help save from us chaos, anarchy, and doom. Help us before we perish, save us before we are doomed. 'Raikiri!'" As he said this, the sky grew dark with Cumlonimbus clouds. A bolt of lihtning erupted from one cloud, and then the other. They all erupted with fierceness and the lightning struck Kariya's hand, and shaped itself into a javelin. The javelin surged with energy, and occasionally gave off white sparks. It glowed white with a blue outline surrounding it. Alma herself was intrigued at how Kariya was able to wield it without it searing his skin. Kariya held Raikiri in his left hand and Hayabusa in his right. "Don't think I'll be going all out on this fight. What I've been doing is a simple warm-up. Not even that intense. Fight like you mean it, not like you're bored. Many people have been killed because they did not take a fight seriously, be it sparring or be it a real fight." Kariya said as he pointed Raikiri at Alma. In an instant, a flash of lightning emerged from the tip, and seared Alma's forehead.